Lance Stephenson has left the Pacers again, but just like last time it may not be forever, writes Dana Benbow for The Indianapolis Star. Stephenson, who signed a one-year deal with the Lakers this summer, was asked about a possible return during a party he threw Wednesday to say goodbye to Indianapolis.
“Oh, of course. This is home. Of course,” he responded. “I would always want to come back here.”
Stephenson was among Indiana’s most productive reserves last season, appearing in all 82 games and posting a 9.2/5.2/2.9 line. His previous stints with other teams — the Hornets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Pelicans and Timberwolves — produced mostly disappointing results.
“We stayed in constant communication with him,” team president Kevin Pritchard said. “At the end of the day, Lance gave us some great years. We love Lance. We love Lance on the court, we love Lance off the court.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Mike Budenholzer may be having “buyer’s remorse” over taking the Bucks‘ head coaching job after the loss of free agent Jabari Parker, suggests Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox in his latest podcast. He adds that the entire organization was counting on Parker to stay and never expected him to get an offer in the $20MM range like the Bulls gave him.
- The Bucks are still hoping to make a deal before the season starts, Woelfel adds in the same discussion. He names John Henson, Malcolm Brogdon and Tony Snell as the players most likely to go, but says Eric Bledsoe has also been mentioned as a trade candidate.
- Ed Stefanski has made a lot of progress in his first 100 days as a senior advisor to the Pistons, notes Chris Schwegler of NBA.com. The most significant moves were the hiring of reigning Coach of the Year Dwane Casey, adding Khyri Thomas and Bruce Brown through the draft and signing free agents Glenn Robinson III, Jose Calderon and Zaza Pachulia.
- Blake Griffin is looking healthy during his summer workouts at UCLA, relays Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. A knee injury limited Griffin to 58 games last year between the Clippers and Pistons, and he hasn’t played more than 67 in a season since 2013/14.
With all the free agents the Pacers have this summer, it could happen. The Pacers just want Lance to improve his 3 point shooting percent.
Really? The Bucks offer 18 but are thrown off by an offer of 20?
We let Jabari walk cause he won’t play defense, too injury prone and was a bad teammate. He hated that Giannis was the team leader. When we’d win a close playoff game we’d see john henson who lost playing time to thon maker in the playoffs high giving and celebrating and there’s Jabari sulking on the bench like we’d just lost. It came out that if Giannis wanted Jabari to stay they would have either matched it or given him a 4 year deal. Every free agent in the league will want to play with Giannis next year when we have the money, and to say we can’t have kahwi, Kyrie, Klay, Butler….cause we signed the guy who tore his acl for the 3rd time?
Who’s gonna go to Milwaukee? Yeah there’s giannis, but the pels have Anthony Davis and who’s hinted any interest there? I love watching both teams but neither is in anyone’s radar, cept wade that one time.
Yeah, sorry Dan, you sound like a homer trying to justify letting JB walk. The Bucks have never been a hot bed for FA. They have to keep and develop their high draft picks. I’ve seen/heard exactly ZERO rumors that any top players have even hinted about wanting to go to Milwaukee to play w/ Giannis.
Glad Milwaukee got rid of Jabari, now he is Chicago’s problem instead.
I hope they don’t trade Brogdon, I think he is good & useful, but yes they need to get rid of Henson, Snell & Bledsoe.
I’m sorry but to say Budenholzer is having buyers remorse over taking the Bucks job is just wrong..he came to Milwaukee because of Giannis. You’re telling me before he accepted the job he didn’t realize Parker might walk? Not to mention I find it very hard to believe that a guy who can’t stay healthy, isn’t a good team player and hates to play defense would’ve changed Budenholzer’s mind that drastically.
Haha, you and cesc were both on here pining for Mil to re-sign Parker. The Bucks themselves, who know him better than anyone, offered him 18 mil. Now, that he escaped Mil, all of a sudden you’re happy about it? Now JB isn’t a good team player? Your blatant homerism takes away your credibility. So, wait… this is a Faldo rumor re: Budenholzer? And why would they make up a false rumor about him, Milwaukee and Parker?!?!? It’s not like we’re talking about the Patriots, and the press wants to stir the pot. Nobody cares about the Bucks, it makes no sense that this rumor would just come out of mid air, come on, man.
Gery Woelfel is a joke. If you were from Milwaukee you’d understand. The last couple of years he was the main source of Jabari Parker “rumors” – rumors supplied to him by Jabari’s camp, putting out the “inside scoop” that THEY wanted out there – the old “sources” routine. Wouldn’t surprise me if he was on Jabari’s agents payroll. THAT’S why Bucks fans will read these rumors and respond with an exaggerated eye roll. Everybody understands that the Bucks are not a hot bed for rumors, which is exactly why Gery can slip in & spout his bullshit & it goes mostly unnoticed. Anyway, that’s why they would just “make shit up” or however you put it. In the future if you see a Bucks “rumor” (especially about Jabari) and see it’s from Gery Woelfel, you can go ahead & disregard it. If it’s valid you’re guaranteed to see it from someone else as well.
Again, you and cesc were on here pining for the Bucks to re-sign Parker. Now that he left, he’s a bad team player and you’re glad he’s gone?!? Seriously? You lose all credibility. Also, why would press make up stories about the Bucks and Budenholzer? It’s not like it’s click bait or sensationalizing Budenholzer and Milwaukee, makes no sense. It’s not the narrative you want to hear, so you attack its credibility. Hahaha, so transparent.